AIR CONDITIONING


Healthy Building or Effi cient Building?


As High-Rise Business Development Manager and Indoor Air Quality Specialist at Carrier UK&I, Matt Maleki works closely with hotel operators to navigate the challenges of building performance, guest comfort and decarbonisation. Here, he explores why reducing carbon emissions should not be viewed as a trade-off against guest experience and how a more holistic approach to HVAC can help hotels create healthier, more effi cient buildings.


F "Poorly


performing systems often generate


hidden costs, including guest


complaints, service recovery measures, discounted stays and lost repeat business."


ew sectors feel the consequences of building performance more acutely than hospitality. Hotels operate around the clock and are under mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy performance, driven by rising utility costs and the UK’s wider Net Zero ambitions. The direction of regulation is also becoming clearer, with the 2026 edition of Approved Document L1


placing greater emphasis on energy-


effi cient building services, eff ective controls and minimising greenhouse gas emissions. The drive for decarbonisation isn’t just being shaped


by regulation; guest expectations and environmental considerations are increasingly infl uencing accommodation bookings. Booking.com’s 2026 Travel & Sustainability Report2 found that 85% of travellers consider more sustainable travel important or very important in their choices. At the same time, operators must deliver exceptional guest experiences, manage complex estates and make investment decisions against a backdrop of economic uncertainty.


It is understandable, then, that some hotel operators still view decarbonisation with caution. There is an enduring perception that reducing emissions comes at the expense of comfort, resilience or aff ordability. I’ve seen time and time again that the opposite is often true. The most eff ective hotel decarbonisation strategies are not just about replacing gas boilers with heat pumps or installing more effi cient cooling equipment. They are about creating buildings that are healthier, more reliable and more effi cient to operate. More importantly, they are about creating environments where guests want to return. After all, hotels don’t sell rooms; they sell experiences built around comfort, relaxation and a great night’s sleep.


Better guest experiences One of the biggest compliments we can receive as HVAC professionals is when nobody talks about our systems at all. Guests rarely leave a hotel praising the temperature of their room or the availability of hot water, but they are quick to notice when something is wrong. A room that feels stuff y, a shower


14 September 2026 • www.acr-news.com


that runs cold or air conditioning that struggles during hot weather can all too quickly undermine an otherwise positive stay. Some guests might complain, but many simply won’t return.


Building performance should not be viewed solely through the lens of energy consumption, because it directly infl uences decarbonisation goals, customer satisfaction, repeat business and operational performance. A well-designed HVAC system can improve indoor environmental quality, reduce operational costs and enhance resilience. Guests expect spaces to feel fresh, comfortable and healthy,


even if they do not necessarily describe those expectations in technical terms. Certain hotel brands now actively position wellness and wellbeing as part of their guest proposition, recognising that environmental quality contributes to the overall experience. Good indoor air quality is therefore not simply a compliance issue or an engineering consideration. It is a fundamental part of the guest experience. Well-maintained ventilation systems, eff ective fi ltration


and properly controlled airfl ow contribute to healthier, more comfortable environments. Intelligent ventilation improves effi ciency by responding to occupancy and conditions rather than operating unnecessarily. Comfort and effi ciency are not competing objectives; they often reinforce one another.


Understanding the building Domestic hot water remains one of the biggest concerns in hotel decarbonisation. Everyone knows boilers work, so replacing familiar systems with newer technologies can raise concerns about reliability and resilience. The prospect of guests running out of hot water at peak times will weigh heavily on operators, but modern air and water-source heat pump solutions have matured signifi cantly. When properly designed around occupancy patterns, storage requirements and demand profi les, they can deliver robust, resilient solutions while substantially reducing energy consumption and emissions. The emphasis here is on design. There is no universal


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